The Vixen Who Returned To The Robin
by Serenity's Ghost
Summary: Sequel to The Vixen and The Robin. "Relax, Dick. Trust her to know what she's doing," Bruce had said. Five months later, I didn't regret listening to my mentor. She came back. Robin/Original Character - Xana.
1. Chapter 1

**Slim Shady isn't back but Serenity's Ghost is. I shan't be updating too much because of exams (curse you) but I just thought the first chapter would be a nice gift. I present to you the full first chapter of the continuation of The Robin and The Vixen. Enjoy and please review.**

The only thing I kept on thinking was how much I didn't really want to go. Events like these balls were part of Bruce's world, not really mine. Sure, I was part of his world now. But did that mean it had to become a part of my world, too? I didn't even know if I wanted it. Tonight, however, I just didn't want to go. I knew it could be kind of fun, like the few others that I'd been to, but tonight I just wasn't feeling it. I doubted that with my lack of zeal it would be very fun.

Last night I'd had to work a late mission with the team. I got to my bed just as the sun was peaking up from the horizon. I had to get up at seven anyway to go about my life as normal. I was so tired. And now I had to put on this suit and make nice to everyone from the upper class in their fabulous gowns, fantastic dresses and amazing suits. Batman wanted me to do some snooping, some digging. He wanted me to keep my ears open to discover which one of the people there had been helping out a crook we'd recently encountered. The crook had miraculously known whose houses to hit and when. It was quite the coincidence that we didn't believe was coincidence at all.

Bruce had left me once we were inside the ballroom of the host's manor and gone off to socialise with a group of finely attired women. I would have shaken my head if I hadn't realised how obviously gorgeous they were. And how loose-lipped they probably were. Bruce could probably bend them like clay to find out what he wanted.

The music was beautiful but only exacerbating my lack of enthusiasm to be there. I just wasn't in the mood.

I fiddled absently with the button at my neck. I wore no tie, no bowtie. My bowtie was with someone I loved and I didn't feel the need to replace it. At the moment, the lack of the bowtie only served to remind me of the five months that I had been forced to spend without her. I sighed and started to make my way across the room. I needed some air. I needed to give myself a minute to get back into focus.

I noticed around the room that Kaldur and Artemis were also undercover. Bruce certainly hadn't told me that they would be there. I noticed that they seemed to be pretending to be a couple and under the care of Oliver Queen. This issue apparently was bigger than I had originally thought.

I began to make my way to the terrace when I noticed a girl who came to stand in the doorway of the terrace. She smiled at me, champagne glass in hand and I stopped in my tracks. It looked just like _her_. But she was...somewhere else...wasn't she?

I closed my eyes for two seconds and shook my head. When I reopened them, she wasn't there anymore. Clearly, I needed a bit more than some air. I'd only missed one night of sleep though. I shouldn't have been having hallucinations.

I continued to make my way towards the terrace but right before I was at the doorway, it occurred to me that perhaps I should say something to Bruce. I turned and began scanning the crowd.

Suddenly, someone slipped something over my head and across my neck from behind. I was about to flip that person over my shoulder onto their back when the hands dropped from behind me without any serious force. I looked down. A bowtie was around my neck. I spun around and right before me was the apparition I thought I had seen.

Xana was standing in front of me, wearing an off-the-shoulder dress, embellished completely with gold sequins. A pale, glittery, gold scarf was over one shoulder. Her lipstick was that same shade of dark red that she always wore. Somehow, it seemed as if five months away from me has made her more beautiful.

"Xana?" I asked. She smiled and wrapped her arms my neck wordlessly, closed the space between us and brought her lips to mine.

It was Xana. It was really her. I knew because her kiss was making everything around me melt away again and I was falling into her. I had missed her. Her trouble, her mischief and most of all, those five hours I spent with the real her.

She pulled away far too soon and looked me in the eyes beyond my sunglasses.

"Your blue eyes are the most beautiful thing in the world, Robin. I've missed the mystery of looking into them and not seeing them," she said. I half smiled at her and pulled her into my embrace. It didn't take me two seconds to notice that she had grown thinner. It sparked a little bit of concern. I released her and she put a hand into mine. I held it softly, still just a little bit mesmerised that she was really here again. I had so many questions. "Robin, will you say something." Her voice sounded a bit anxious. I smiled.

"Something." She smacked me in the stomach. It hurt. She was still as strong as ever.

"Not what I meant. You're a little bit...unenthusiastic. Was...was I wrong to kiss you? Is there someone else?" She was dead anxious, worried even that she had lost me. It made me feel so...glad that she was still seemingly in love with me.

"Unenthusiastic?" I challenged. I brought my mouth back to hers and wiped the thought that I could be unenthusiastic at the moment straight from her mind. My hands worked to press her to me while I began to explore the length of her lip with my tongue. Her lips parted and I dared to delve deeper and explore her mouth. Apparently, her sass was something that was contagious, something that made me do something bold. Her tongue met mine quickly and she tasted like champagne. I was already drunk from the taste of her mouth and her presence. I didn't need a drink.

She pulled her tongue away from mine and I drew mine back, allowing my lips to continue to be melded with hers for a couple seconds more. I pulled back and the sassy smile she wore when she used to be clad in black leather and a mask returned.

Someone cleared their throat behind me and I turned, expecting to see a smugly smiling Bruce but instead seeing Artemis and Kaldur looking curiously at me, guarded expressions. I could tell that they were probably thinking that my cover did not involve all of that. They were confused and surprised.

"Uh, hey guys," I said, trying to be casual but still a little high from that kiss.

"Uh, hey, Rob. Um..." Artemis began.

"Oh, you're in trouble. I'm sorry. I'll clear this up right away," she said. She took my hand and came to stand next to me. "I'm assuming Robin delivered my message five months ago. And that your bruises are all better."

Kaldur was sharp and picked up on it almost as soon as it had been said.

"You are Xana?" he asked.

"Last time I checked, yes. It's my pleasure to meet you on more peaceful terms."

"Peaceful terms? Who said anything about peaceful terms? You haven't given us a reason to trust you," Artemis rebutted, "despite Robin letting you stick your tongue down his throat." Xana gave her generally seductive smile and I could tell she was resisting the urge to laugh.

"I've gone through my rehabilitation and dealt with my issues. I have a promise to fulfil to someone important. I won't ever fall back into that again."

"That's got nothing to do with us. How are we so sure you promised someone to begin with or that you keep your promises?" she argued back.

"Because," I intervened, "she made that promise to me when I promised I'd be there for her. I'll vouch for her." Artemis' eyebrows shot up and Kaldur's expression remained calm in a badly masking sort of way. "It's a little bit hard to explain but I promise I'll explain it to you later. Right now, I need to get some answers myself." Kaldur nodded.

"I know I sent the message but I have to say it myself. I'm really sorry, okay? About everything," she said to them. Kaldur gave her a small smile, able to tell that their former enemy was being genuine.

"I accept your apology but I cannot say for the rest of the team. I suppose one day you will have to tell us the full story if you ever expect us to trust you," he replied. She nodded.

"Agreed." She looked over to Artemis who looked away awkwardly for a second.

"Yeah, apology accepted by me, too," she said finally. Xana gave them both a brilliant smile which they returned to a severely lesser extent, but she seemed to accept it anyway.

"We need to get back to our observations. We'll talk after this," Kaldur said.

"Sure thing," I replied. "Enjoy."

"Same to you." They walked away, leaving me and Xana together in the doorway.

She turned to me and put her arms around my neck again, smiling.

"So where were we?" she asked.

"You still owe me some answers," I reminded her. She pouted but then kissed me briefly and let go.

"Let's go to the terrace."

**Any thoughts? Please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**To all my readers, I give you a sincere apology for the hold up on updating this story. It's been on hiatus while I deal with my other YJ story, 'Sometimes Heroines Need Heroes'. It's still no excuse though. This chapter has been sitting on my flashdrive for a very long time. And school has been killing me. But a million times, I apologise.**

**By the way, when Robin says 'DL', he means 'down low'. Just to make sure we're all on the same page.**

She pulled me a few steps and said, "Close the door." I shut one side, she shut the other and we walked out to the balcony. A cool breeze blew, moving a number of her flowing, black tresses and we stood there for a moment, watching the wide expanse of carefully tended landscape beyond around a wide fountain.

I touched the small of her back and I saw her gather the skirt of her dress to the side and go to sit on the balcony.

"Come join me?" she asked. I obeyed and noticed when I looked down that she was wearing the same shoes she'd worn on our date many moon ago. They still looked lovely on her and they still looked painful.

"How can you stand to wear those things? Aren't you in pain?" I asked. She noticed my gaze on her feet and she burst into laughter.

"A little. But I'm used to wearing heels."

"I'm in pain just looking at them." She laughed again.

"So, your answers." I nodded and she looked out onto the beautiful landscape. "What's your first question?"

"Where have you been? Why'd you let yourself get caught? Why didn't you call? Why didn't you tell me what you'd been planning? Maybe we could have worked out something else." She snickered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. That's not one question and that last one wasn't even a question."

"Technically they're all part of one story, aren't they?"

"You're right." She exhaled. "What I needed was a rehab, something to wean me off stealing, and a way to pay for what I'd done. I had decided on that plan that very same day. I knew they couldn't send me to jail so they'd have to send me to a facility for juvenile detention. I didn't have my phone—or _your_ phone number—so I couldn't contact you or be contacted. I just got out two days ago actually. I finished my program without so much as a misdemeanour violation. I knew that if I was doing this, I had to do it right. So now I'm back to society. And, best of all, back to you...if you want me."

It was my turn to snicker.

"As if you should even doubt that I want you. Have you looked in a mirror lately? More importantly, do you remember what I said five months ago?" She looked down.

"Yeah. I've seen myself in a mirror," she said softly, voice sounding full of pain just being restricted. My smile dropped from my mouth.

"But it was bad there, wasn't it? They hurt you. You lost weight."

"You could tell?"

"I noticed when I was holding you."

"It's horrible, isn't it? I've got to regain my muscles, my size. I had to have this dress taken in." I just looked at her as she looked back out onto the landscaping. "The other girls there, most of them didn't want to be there. They were lashing out, fighting, trying to cling on to the unhealthy lifestyle they were leading. It was the only thing they had, I don't blame them. It probably scared them to try to let their guards of rage and violence down and to find serenity and honesty. It meant confronting themselves and their sins. And I know that's not easy.

"I tried to help out, breaking up fights, offering my help to the other girls as much as I could. One girl, she clung onto the rage and the violence really, really tightly. It upset her that I was so calm, said I was making all of them look so bad. She started a fight. I tried to defend myself without throwing my own blows. I got hurt pretty badly. When she saw the woun—what she had done, she apologised. For the very least, she learnt that her issues were really bad and she agreed to start the anger management. I made some friends, an ex-prostitute, a girl who'd killed her abusive brother, a runaway. It was humbling. It reminded me that I was never in any position to judge anyone, that beneath everyone's offences were people trying to deal with life."

It was a lot of take in, what she had said but as every word registered, I came to marvel at the wisdom and willpower of this girl. She spoke truth that I'd never really encountered. Something about what she said, I could feel it making me a better person just by knowing it. Every minute I spent talking with her, it felt like my reasons for being in love with her grew.

"Deep," was all I could say. "But I'm glad you came back alright." She looked at me and gave a small smile and her face began its journey towards mine. Her lips touched softly to mine and then parted, kissing slowly and softly. I deepened the kiss, moving an arm to pull her a little closer, to remove the inch or two that had been between us. My hand moved from the spot on her waist, up her back and to her shoulder and the scarf draped there kept me from the feel on her skin.

Instinctively, my fingers ventured to touch beneath the scarf. I pulled away from her when I felt the line of smooth scar tissue.

"Turn a little, would ya?" I asked. She just barely hesitated, then looked away, to the floor where she'd just been standing. I moved the scarf aside a little and gasped when I saw the two inch angry line on her shoulder, a scar that spoke volumes about the deep wound that had been inflicted upon her. Her eyes shot up to me for a millisecond then returned to the floor.

"That's why I've been hiding it. I knew you'd freak out."

"How—"

"I told you I'd been hurt pretty bad, didn't I?"

"What...what did she do to you?"

"There...was a broken chair in a corner. The sharp, broken piece got my shoulder. There were bruises all around it and on my head, as well as a head injury."

I pulled her towards me, embracing her tightly but trying not to be too forceful.

"All my injuries have healed, Rob. You can hold me as tightly as you want," she said. I held her just a little more tightly as she seemed to read my mind again. She rested her head a bit awkwardly on my shoulder and for a couple of minutes I just kept her there in silence. I thought I could just barely hear the sound of her tear falling onto the fabric of my jacket.

"Hey, Robin," she said finally, softly. "I really love you, you know."

"I know," I replied quietly. "I love you, too, which is why I won't let you get hurt again. I meant what I said when I said I'd be your everything."

"Big promise for a thirteen-year-old."

"Forget about my age. A promise is a promise and I know full well what it means. I'll be there for you when you need me."

"And your teammates? If I call when you're off on a mission, when I need you and you're somewhere in the Gobi Desert, what then?" She leaned back, off my shoulder and I opened my mouth to say... nothing but then realised I had nothing to say, no set response to that one. She chuckled. "Don't worry about it, I'm just messing with you. I'm not the clingy girlfriend and I've managed with your schedule before." She sat infinitesimally straighter as we both realised she wasn't even officially my girlfriend yet. "Not that I'm your—"

"Xana, will you be my girlfriend?" I asked, pre-empting her. She gave a small laugh and smiled.

"Think you can handle me?"

"I think I can manage."

"Well, alright then. I accept." She returned her head to my shoulder and I continued to just enjoy holding her. "So, does Robin's girlfriend have any special privileges?"

I let go and she pulled back and I smiled at her. I threw a leg over the balcony and she did the same, just as I lifted my shades and rested it on my head, showing her my eyes.

"Of course you do. You get to know that my name's Richard Grayson and I have blue eyes and I'm an orphan under the protection of a guardian." Her eyes widened.

"Oh, wow. I was thinking more like you'll call me every day or I get to ride on the back of your motorcycle or something. Not—wow." She sounded so stunned that I had to laugh a little.

"You wouldn't believe who's my guardian—" She cut me off, putting her hand over my mouth.

"Well, keep _some_ secrets to yourself, why don't ya?" I removed her hand.

"I want you to know. I've got to be honest."

"Robin—"

"Richard, or Dick." She exhaled.

"Richard, I've never wanted you to tell me everything. I want you to keep your identity as safe as possible, keep your life as safe as possible. The kinds of things I want you to be honest about are what your favourite colour is or if I'm kissing you okay, stuff like that. All I want to know is that you love me. You don't have to tell me everything. Just the things that are safe to share, the things that are important to know, what I should talk about, what I shouldn't talk about, who're your favourite teams, your favourite videogames, your secret wishes, secret desires. I don't need a background, a bio, a profile. I just need you, as you are, as it's safe to be."

"If...if I do that, you'd only be dating the superhero. You'll have half a man. It's a hollow relationship that will only exist when I wear the mask. Is that what you want?"

"It's not what I _want_, but what needs to be if your secret is to stay safe." I exhaled.

"Xana, what did I promise you?"

"That you'd be my everything."

"What else?"

"That you wouldn't let me get hurt."

"Right. So why are you trying so hard to protect me if _you__'__ll_ probably get hurt in the end?"

"You're underestimating me. I don't like it."

"I'm not underestimating you. I just don't want to create problems unnecessarily. We'll probably have other issues to deal, so why should we make ones where there shouldn't be? Why should we complicate things any more?"

"You trust me to keep your secrets, and to accept you for who you are, what you've done and what you do?"

"I've accepted you, haven't I? I'm in no position to judge." She smiled.

"Accepting you is not something I have a problem with, or keeping secrets."

"Even if I said I was bisexual?" She smiled, her arms coming around my neck.

"Well, I'm a greedy girl and I won't want to share you so I'll have to do something about that." Her lips crashed down onto mine just as the words were out of her mouth, her tongue making its way to my lips and into my mouth as I parted my lips slightly. She strongly wrestled with mine, touching and tasting deeply before she withdrew.

"Okay, well at least I'm sure now that I'm _not_ bisexual. Or, if I was, I don't think I am anymore." She laughed, stroking the back of my head. "But in any case, if you're so greedy, you should want all of me, like I'm offering." She raised an eyebrow and it took me two seconds to realise my unintended innuendo. "I mean—" She laughed.

"I get what you mean and what you don't," she reassured, still smiling.

"Anyway," I continued, "you might want to keep me safe by helping me to compartmentalise, but I don't want you to be Robin's girlfriend and not Richard's. I want you to be mine all the time and be yours all the time, too." She gave me her sultry smile.

"Since when are you such a sweet talker?"

"It's just all for you, babe."

"See? There you go again." She kissed my lips briefly but pulled away far too soon. "Oh, crap, I'm keeping you from your mission, aren't I?"

"It's fine. Kal and Artemis can handle it—"

"If they could, you wouldn't have been here. I wish I could help but I know you're not at liberty to tell me. Come on. We should return to the party." We both dismounted the ledge.

"We're looking for a sellout. Someone's been stealing from some of the wealthy business people in the room tonight who are all part of the same circle. We figure there's got to be a snitch that's telling the thief where all the houses are, where the safes are in these houses and how to bypass their security."

"Hm. Well, as an ex-thief, it sounds to me like one of their friends is broke." I raised an eyebrow.

"Care to explain that one just a little?"

"Think about it. If you're the informant of a thief stealing from rich people—"

"The benefits would probably be a cut of all that was stolen! You're a genius!"

"No, that would be you."

"Yeah, you're right." She chuckled and opened the door.

"I'll keep my eyes and ears open and find you if I uncover anything."

"You really don't have to. You're here to enjoy yourself. I don't want to stop you." She snickered.

"Oh, _please_. We both know this isn't my particular brand of entertainment. Besides, you need all the help you can get. There are a lot of people in this room."

"I suppose you're right. But keep it on the DL. If my friends find out you're helping us, they're going to get on my case for almost compromising a mission and blah, blah, blah."

"Noted. I'll go hang around with the friend I'm escorting and some other circles and see if I find anything out. I'll find you if I hear anything."

"Wait, you're someone else's _date_? And you were making out with me like that? Are you nuts? People are going to think you're—"

"My friend is a girl. I said I was escorting someone, not that I was their date."

"Oh. Never mind." She stifled a laugh and shook her head.

"Just go look for the person."

"Alright. I'll catch you afterwards, okay? What time do you leave?"

"My friend can go home without me. I've got my phone on me, too."

"Oh, okay. Give it to me for a moment." She handed it to me and gave it back a few moments later. "Now you've got my number." She took back the phone and I gave her hand a squeeze before I turned and walked away from her.

**I****probably****won****'****t****be****updating****again****for****a****while.****Please****forgive****me.****I****really****have****no****time****these****days.**


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